Safety and hospitality ambassadors for a downtown Asheville business improvement district would be perceived as a welcome addition by some — additional “eyes and ears” on the street. But others aren’t sure that such a program is a priority.

Safety and hospitality ambassadors for a downtown Asheville business improvement district would be perceived as a welcome addition by some — additional “eyes and ears” on the street. But others aren’t sure that such a program is a priority.
The 40-hour crisis intervention training prepares first responders to interact with someone in crisis. A significant component is making them aware of local resources that exist for people with substance use or behavioral health challenges.
The chief operating officer of Mission Hospital Behavioral Health Services, Melina Arrowood, gave Xpress a tour of the site prior to its opening while the building was under construction.
The Sweeten Creek facility, which is anticipated to open in August, brings 38 additional acute behavioral care beds to Western North Carolina.
The majority of the June 2 CIBO meeting focused on plans for the Sweeten Creek Mental Health and Wellness Center, a 120-bed hospital that will provide behavioral health services.
Childhood is romanticized as the most carefree time of one’s life. But anyone who endured bullying by classmates, or was raised with an alcoholic parent, or struggled to afford basic necessities, knows childhood has never been easy. There is widespread agreement that children’s lives have become more difficult with disruptions to education and family life […]
Buncombe County is one of the 91 counties the Office of Rural Health has designated as experiencing a behavioral health professional shortage. In fact, the 2022 departmental map designates all 16 counties of Western North Carolina as experiencing a shortage.
A new health center opened May 2 to reach adolescents in need of health care right where they are: in school. Asheville Middle School’s school-based health center, or SBHC, is a medical office located on campus and open during school hours. It is staffed by a physician assistant part-time and a full-time registered nurse; a […]
Briefly, it seemed like the coronavirus pandemic had turned a corner. “People were starting to feel a little bit optimistic this summer,” says Ariel Shumaker, an Asheville therapist in private practice, about COVID-19. “And now, it’s not feeling optimistic.” Fatigue, sadness, anxiety, rage, fear, exhaustion — these are the emotions area behavioral health professionals report […]
“You don’t have to be a psychiatrist to know that when you take away people’s routines and jobs, it’s difficult for them, especially if they have a mental illness,” says Brian Ingraham, CEO of Vaya Health. New federal funding will help two Western North Carolina agencies expand mental health services, some directly related to the pandemic and the rest addressing overall behavioral health issues.
Staffers at Mission Hospital have recently been feeling the love from all corners of the community, with restaurants delivering meals around the clock, schools and businesses manufacturing personal protective equipment for medical workers and local residents stepping forward to donate masks and other supplies.
“Often we can reach folks better through technology than we can face to face,” says Shane Lunsford of the Center for Psychiatry and Mental Wellness. As telehealth service offerings and technological capabilities expand, providers around the region are excited about the possibilities of new models of seeing patients and providing care.
More than two years in the making, partner agencies celebrated the C3356 Comprehensive Care Center’s official opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the evening of April 21.
With a multi-million dollar deficit still looming over Western Highlands Network, the organization’s board members will have to find another way to balance the budget after they withdrew their most recent budget reduction plan. (Photo of interim CEO Charles Schoenheit by Caitlin Byrd)